The most powerful families in South Korea gather together in Chantelle Manor for the first time. A formal assembly took a wrong turn when a guest's daughter was found dead in her room. Ten suspects and a young, reputable detective meet and find them...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The day of the murder. Morning.
"A blind...what?" Mirae looks at the basket of flowers her "date" sent her. She turns to her parents with a look of disapproval. "I already told you. I detest dating. I'd like you to cancel. I'm not coming to one of those places for cheesy chitchats."
"Mirae, you are turning twenty-one next year. You have to meet someone who can help you with the business," her mother said. "Do you honestly think you can take care of the company on your own? The board is already a handful for your dad and me. How are you going to handle them?"
"Mom, you just have to trust me. I don't need anything else other than your support." Mirae looked at her father and pouted. "Dad. You always said that the company would grow with my leadership, didn't you?"
"Still, you'll be too burdened. You will need a husband, Mirae. Be good to Benjamin. We don't want to be on the bad side of his parents," her father said before leaving the room with her mom.
Mirae grunted and kicked the basket of flowers off the couch. "Annoying. Just. Plain. Annoying." She went to her desk and looked for the business proposal, which she stayed up making the night before. "I was supposed to present this tonight, but I should at least talk to that Benjamin about work."
She got ready and left her room, holding the folder for business instead of a purse. She went inside the elevator and started reviewing the proposal. Before the door closed, Kit entered in a hurry with a watermelon popsicle in his hand.
Feeling the presence of a stranger, Mirae moved away, her eyes still on the papers. Out of curiosity, Kit secretly peeked at what she was reading and mouthed an 'oh' when he saw a lot of words. She must be smart. He thought.
The door opened, and Mirae immediately got off to meet Benjamin at the hotel's café. "Where's that doofus?" She looked around the room and saw a guy raising his arm at the corner of the café. "That must be him."
Mirae walked towards their table and sat across from him. "Did I keep you waiting?" She asks. "I had to prepare some important papers."
"No, it's okay. I had just arrived myself." Benjamin raises his hand, gesturing the waiters to serve the food he ordered. "I don't know what you would like, so I ordered all the specials."
Mirae's eyes grew wide when she saw the plate of lobsters and Kobe steak placed on their table. Showoff. She thought, scoffing in her head. "That's very considerate." She sliced herself some beef and started eating.
"So, what are you up to these days?" Benjamin asks. "I heard from your mom that you enjoy woodcarving. Do you take classes?"
Exactly the type of questions I loathe. "I don't. Mom lied to you. I don't enjoy woodcarving. I don't even do it. She probably saw me sharpening my pencil with a cutter and thought I was carving." She was about to bring up the proposal when Benjamin raised another question.
"Do you have other hobbies, then? I learn golfing these days. It was more fun than I expected." Did I ask? Mirae laughed awkwardly and laid the folder on the table. Benjamin furrowed his brows and looked at her. "What is that?"
"My parents are looking for my potential partner, so I thought I should bring this to present my plans for our business. Since they recommended you to me, you should try reading that, and tell me what you think. I'll gladly accept suggestions." Mirae sounded too enthusiastic about business matters, making Benjamin uncomfortable.
"Mirae, we're in a middle of a date. Don't you think it's too out of place? We're here to know about each other, not talk about work."
"Oh." She pulled the folder away, placing it on her lap. "I thought you would be interested."
"What I'm interested in is you. Let's put work aside for now and focus on each other. Hm? Don't ruin the mood." Mirae furiously closed her hands under the table, keeping her face blank. Ruin the mood? She thought."Where were we?"
"My interests," she answered and forced a smile. "I'm actually interested in marketing and stocks. I get new and relevant ideas every second. One time, I impressed Mrs. Gina Park with my presentation and got her to invest in our company--"
"You're just trying to talk about business by disguising it as your interest. Can't we talk about business some other time? It's annoying." He wiped his lips with a table napkin and stood up. "Now I know why no one's making a move on you."
Mirae had enough of it and stood up too. "Excuse me? Who do you think are you to tell me what my interests are and what isn't? You told me to talk about what I like, so I did. I don't get what you're trying to force into me. Did you expect me to say that I like arts? That I like to cook? Is that what you want? Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't know how to hold a brush, I blew up our kitchen, and you are just a fucking asshole."
Benjamin scoffed at what she said. "What did you call me? Swearing doesn't suit you. Shut it."
"I shut up when I want to shut up. If you don't like how I'm behaving, then get lost. I don't need you," Mirae said without minding all the eyes on her.
"If you say so. You can kiss this partnership goodbye." He angrily left the table and stormed out of the room.
Mirae took a deep breath and sat down. "This is exactly why I don't want to marry. They're all controlling assholes. I'm so sick of them."
"My dad isn't like that." Her eyes grew wide, hearing the person sitting behind her. Mirae turned around and looked at him. "Not all of them are assholes," he continued.
"Didn't anyone tell you that listening to other people's conversation is disrespectful? Mind your business." Instead of listening to Mirae, Kit left his table and sat across her. "What is wrong with you?"
"You were talking too loud. How can I not hear anything?" He pushed the plates to the side and picked up the folder that fell from Mirae's lap after she stood up. "This is my first time encountering someone who doesn't want to get married," he said, placing the folder on the table.
"I don't need a companion. Some lonely soul needs those people more than I do." Mirae took the folder and wiped her lips before standing. "Thanks for picking this up. You can have the leftovers if you want. Help yourself."
"Can I sign them?" Kit asked, looking at her proposal. "I bought a pen. I wanna try it out."
"Do you even know what's written in here?" Mirae asked.
"I can read it. My parents said I could do anything as long as it would benefit the company. Can I sign?" He took out his brand new pen and reached out to receive the proposal.
Mirae gave him judging looks, looking at him from head to toe. He looks like a clueless toddler. She shook her head, keeping the folder behind her. "No. I don't even know whose son you are." She clicked her tongue and left the café.
Kit shrugged it off and was about to leave when he noticed some stapled papers under the table. He picked it up and scanned the pages. "It's hers. Did I give her an empty folder?" He turned to the door, hoping she was still around. "Is she gone already?" Kit left the café and looked for her in the lobby, but there was no sign of Mirae anymore. Kit laughed nervously, looking at the papers. "My bad."
--
A bit of a clue? This chapter might have something to do with the mystery🤭 Hopefully, the info is well hidden for now😆
AGAIN, I want to make it clear to everyone that nothing romantic will be happening in the book. Either they're friends, related, or just working together like the relationship between Bareum and Moochi in the kdrama "Mouse". I might overdo it (like I did in Neon Street: Who Are You?) and lose focus on the mystery part🙈 There might still be some subtle lovely moments somewhere because I can't help myself at times😬
